Are My Teen’s SAT or ACT Scores Good Enough?

Students are typically confused about knowing whether their SAT or ACT test scores are good enough. The best way to begin to find this out is to take your scores and go to websites like www.CollegeSimply.com or www.Cappex.com,

Let’s begin by viewing the concordance tables from the Collegeboard which provide the correlation between the two exams. (ALL schools accept both SAT and ACT scores.)

SAT scores between 1100–1200 or ACT scores between 22-24 is adequate for many colleges

SAT scores between 1200-1400 or ACT sccores between 25-30 is very good for many top schools

SAT scores above 1400 or ACT scores above 30 should ensure that your teen will have no problems for admission to the most competitive schools (if all else is in order)

Now that you have all the numbers, I’m going to make it very simple for you:

An SAT score between 1100–1200 or an ACT score between 23-27 is adequate for the majority of colleges. EXAMPLES: Clemson, University of Georgia, James Madison, Penn State, Ohio State, University of Texas, University of Indiana.

An SAT score between 1200–1400 or an ACT score between 27-30 is very good and sufficient for many highly competitive schools. EXAMPLES: University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Minnesota, University of Delaware, Binghamton.

An SAT score above 1400 or an ACT score above 32 should ensure that your teen will have no problems for ‘getting in the door’ at the most competitive schools. EXAMPLES: Washington University, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Franklin Olin College of Engineering, Columbia – you get the idea!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE LOWER END OF THE RANGE INDICATES THE AVERAGE SCORE OF ONLY 25% OF THOSE ACCEPTED.

Also, scores are a PIECE of the admission pie. The other important pieces are GPA, extracurriculars, recommendations and the college essay.

It’s important to note also that students who apply to a particular school, self select based on all of the above criteria. That said, students may not get into a school not because they don’t have all the pieces in place, you’re not from Kansas City, MO, they’re not a left-handed oboe player, or they’re not male! FYI: Being a male is an advantage as more females attend college than males.
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Do you need more information about college acceptance, the differences between the SAT and ACT, which is the better exam for your student, when is the best time for your teen to take the exam, and how best to prepare?

Have your student tale the quick SAT vs ACT Assessment and find out which exam suits your teen better. The SAT and ACT Skill Set Assessments not only validate the SAT vs. ACT Assessment but provide potential SAT and ACT score ranges.